


Guide my Soul

by Some_Cookie_Crumbz



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Also other ships included will be listed at the start of chapters they are included in, F/M, Rating bumped up because there will be smut, Simply because I don't want them showing up in their ship tags when they aren't getting a real focus, Smutty chapters will be listed as such for those that want to avoid, Tagging other characters mostly because they appear in some of the fics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-03 21:38:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14005344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Some_Cookie_Crumbz/pseuds/Some_Cookie_Crumbz
Summary: A collection of Soma oneshots that I write. Cross-posted from my tumblr account.





	1. Green Eyed Weapon, Green Eyed Meister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request Fill from my tumblr featuring Soul and Maka being jealous of the attention they're receiving from other students at the school on Valentine's Day.

A low whistle escaped from Liz as she watched his jaw clench and teeth grind with barely hidden rage, eyes glued on the two other students standing a few feet away. “Isn’t that… Ah, what’s his name again?” She drawled, tapping her chin in deep thought. She then clapped her hands together and grinned as his attention snapped to her instead. “Ah, that’s right! Winston Calderwell! Oh, the  _infamous_  Calderwell family!”

“You mean the family of dull-witted  _axe weapons_? The only thing they have going for them is being old money! Oh, yeah, like Maka would waste her breath on a guy like  _that_ ,” Soul sneered lowly, but jerked to attention like a startled dog when a small giggle came from the pigtailed girl standing out of their earshot. He and Maka had just arrived, making their way through the door to head to their usual seats when the guy had approached them, asking to speak with her in private. She’d agreed, curious and polite and eager to talk to another student yet again that morning.

That had been how the day had been going as a whole so far. Every time he and Maka turned around, there was another guy there offering her candy or notes for Valentine’s Day; hidden behind a facade of admiring her “battle strategy” and “accomplishments as a Meister” and “seeking out guidance from a senior Meister to further their own success”. It took every ounce of self-control in him to not wheel around and laugh in the guy’s face. He’d seen how each of them watched her as they approached, paying more attention to the way her body moved than her face or what she was saying. They knew how to get at her to give them the time of day – everyone knew that Maka had a tendency to look out for younger Meisters and Weapons as they entered and adjusted to like in the DWMA – while also knowing it was the only way that she wouldn’t listen to Soul himself about them going. Soul had flashed his best snarl at the guy as he had headed to his seat over her shoulder.

The dimwit didn’t even get the hint, given how his dopey smile stayed in place; or, rather,  _pretended_  not to take the hint.

Liz’ grin became more mischievous and she hummed lowly. “You’re probably right, nothing to worry about from him. Oh, but then again,” She trailed, examining her fingernails as if her mint green nail polish was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world, “there’s still Joseph Del Rio, and Hubert von Kratura, and a whole bunch of other guys dropping notes in her locker. And half those guys aren’t even weapons!” Liz jumped a bit in surprise when Souls hand, which had clutching the edge of the table tightly, suddenly shifted to scythe form and pierced the wood. “Wow, you’re really jealous, aren’t you?” She laughed.

“I am  _not_  jealous! What reason would I have to be jealous?” He growled, glaring at her over his shoulder as he yanked his blade free and shifted it back to proper human form. He clenched and unclenched his fist in irritation before crossing his arms, placing them on the desk, and leaning forward to rest against them. He tried to not look back over but he couldn’t help it. The bell chimed again a second later and finally, with a small smile and wave, Maka parted ways with her suitor and hurried her way over. “Must have been a real interesting conversation, huh?” He grumbled out, his tone bitter and irritated, as he watched her start pulling her things from her back.

She quirked an eyebrow at him, green eyes bright as she watched him. “Sorry that I was over there so long. Winston just wanted to give me a Valentine’s Day Card to thank me for some tips I gave his Meister about better handle grip and we got caught up talking about scheduling another tutoring session,” She explained calmly as she set her notebook down. Soul groaned and turned away to look at the blackboard, grateful that his arms hid the very un-cool pout his lips were doing right now. “Oh, come on, Soul! I know you’re more about lazing about on our downtime, but we should really help out some of the younger duos with figuring out what they’re doing! You’re a death scythe now and we’ve got to embrace what the responsibility that comes with that!” She chided lightly.

Soul grumbled something unintelligible in response and refused to look at her again.

Liz rolled her eyes and flashed an exasperated look at Kid. He sighed and gently mouthed, “Leave it alone, Elizabeth.”

“But they’re totally in to each other and it’s starting to get ridiculous!” She mouthed back, flapping her hands between the two of them as Professor Stein rolled up to the front.

“Let them work this out in their own time, Liz. If we get involved it could only get more complicated; especially given how stubborn they can be,” He mouthed back with finality before turning to a clean sheet in his notebook and picking up his pen.

Liz huffed and leaned her chin in her hand, peering in front of them at the duo in question, wondering  _just_  how oblivious two people could be.

………………………………………………………………………………

Maka Albarn was an easy sort to piss off, but that wasn’t the side of her that people knew to fear. Sure, her anger had caused her to turn many a leather-bound novel into a weapon of Kishin-slaying proficiency, but that wasn’t the emotion of hers that was most frightening. More times than not her outlandish and over-the-top shows of anger were just fronts she put up to mask the things that actually  _did_  get to her. When she was really upset about something, she’d grow quiet and almost passive, giving short and curt responses to questions while her mind – and, like the instance in question, her eyes – were focused solely on whatever had her distraught.

This was one of those incidents, Tsubaki realized, as Maka’s eyes focused in on Soul standing a few feet away, talking with a pretty girl a year younger than them.

She’d caught them on their way to their lunch break, calling after him as “Mister Eater” instead of just saying his name. That had earned her a whined comment about how being called “Mister” was uncool from Soul while his  Meister had looked at the girl strangely. At first, Tusbaki herself had though that it was simply because of the overly respectful way she’d addressed him, but then she’d seen that the blonde woman’s eyes were focused in solely on something behind the girl’s back. They walked a little bit ahead, just to give them some more privacy, but as she tried to change the subject it was clear Maka wasn’t paying attention.

No, she was completely obsessed with the small pink box with lacy white ribbon that the girl was eagerly shoving into Soul’s hands.

“Maka, are you listening?” She asked for the fourth or fifth time in a row.

Maka offered a vague, humming noise in response.

“It’s okay, Maka. Almost everybody gets gifts from all kinds of other students on Valentine’s Day,” She said, trying to defuse the growing frustration inside her friend. It was clear to anyone that paid attention that Maka had feelings that went beyond just being Meister-Weapon partners for Soul – except maybe Soul himself, but she wasn’t going to get into that right now – but the girl herself either hadn’t realized it herself or was too afraid to own up to it.

Which, given Maka’s family history? Not too terribly surprising.

But it still broke Tsubaki’s heart for the both of them! The two spent so much time dancing around their feelings for one another and playing it off like it was nothing, but it worried her. Assuming they were both aware of their feelings, that meant they were both doing it out of the fear of things going south between them. Tsubaki knew that, for Soul, at least, there was a fear of Maka being unable to separate their relationship from her parents if they took that next step. It had taken him so much time to earn her trust and prove that he wasn’t going to abandon her once he had the title of Death Scythe like Spirit done to her mother, and if he lost that trust it would break him.

And when there were other girls – especially the other female Meisters – coming at him with chocolates and cards, it placed Maka’s head in a combative stance.

“What,” Black Star drawled as he yawned and stretched, having only halfway been paying attention, “are you jealous or something?”

Make whipped around lightening fast and glared at him. “I know you’re slow in the head, but maybe don’t go pulling  _bull_  out of your  _ass_!” She seethed.

Tsubaki winced as Black Star scowled and glared her down. “What the Hell?” He snapped back.

“What’s going on?” Soul asked as he walked back over, the top corner of the chocolate peeking out from the top of his bag.

“Oh, like  _you_  care. You’re too busy chatting up other girls,” Maka huffed, turning her head away from him and glaring at a flyer on the wall.

Tsubaki fought back a whine as Soul’s brow knit and he scowled. “Hey, it’s not like I  _wanted_  to talk to her; she came to me,” He argued back flatly, though his tone was starting to show some irritation.

“Didn’t want to talk to her but you still took the chocolate, huh?” Maka scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“She  _wouldn’t let me_  walk away until I did! Would you  _rather_  I just spend the whole lunch break standing there like a tool?” He barked back.

“What I would  _like_ ,” She growled while turning back to look at him, “is for you to be more upfront with your feelings!”

“Oh really? Because half the time when I do, you ignore me! I  _try_  to tell you that I don’t want to help the younger teams out because I’d  _rather_  spend that time with  _you,_  but you always go on about the obligations we have now!”

“Do you think I don’t want to spend time with you, too? That doesn’t mean that we have the right to shirk off our responsibility to help other people though! We just need to get into a routine that gives us time for both!”

“Fine, then! We don’t have any tutoring sessions tonight, so let’s go out!” He huffed, through his arms up in the air.

“Fine! We can try that new Italian place you’ve been wanting to go to! I’ll call in and make sure there’s a table for us!” She huffed back, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well let me know what time we get in! I’ll check movie times so we can see that new sci-fi flick you mentioned being curious about!” He barked back.

“Good, it’s settled then!” She says with finality before turning to head to the cafeteria. Soul grumbled something under his breath and followed after her, falling back into his usual step of dropped shoulders and long strides.

Tsubaki blinked before shaking her head with a small sigh. Well, it wasn’t perfect, but at least they’d be going out together for Valentine’s Day. That was something, at least.


	2. Splish, Splash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request Fill using a Prompt List from tumblr. Soma, The Way You Said I Love You List, "Over and over again, till it's nothing but a senseless babble".

It was going to be a simple mission, they said. You’ll be in and out, they said.

Soul felt panic and fury rage through him as he clattered to the ground, just at the lake’s edge. Their assignment had to take out a lower level Kishin – given the nickname of “Ariel” - that seemed drawn to water, luring people to the edge of the lake and then dragging them down into the murky depths. Maka had seemed unimpressed and unconcerned by the prospect. “We’ve fought in so many different terrains,” She explained, looking over a map as they took a train to the town closest to the lake in question, “and it’s not as if the battle is all underwater. The Kishin just leads them to the water to finish them off. So long as we take it out early on, we’ll be fine.” He’d taken her at her word – after all, she was right about them having ample experience to handle the situation – but there had been a nagging voice in the back of his mind that said this would end poorly.

It took them about an hour of skulking around in the woods before the beast revealed itself to them. It had been taking the form of a scared child to coerce people close and it still took that form when they approached. How it didn’t realize that they weren’t the garden variety hikers the Kishin normally took to attacking. He hadn’t changed forms yet, but they still stuck out like two white-and-blue thumbs in their Spartoi uniforms in the thick woods. The minute the Kishin started approaching them, letting out a quiet whimper in preparation of pleading for help. Maka reached out, lacing one gloved hand with his, and with a small squeeze he changed forms.

“Kishin Ariel, we’ve come for your soul,” Maka said, confident and even, as she twirled Soul around to point his curved blade at them.

For a moment, Ariel seemed completely stunned, before giggling and starting to shift to her real form. “How entertaining; sending children to try and defeat me. You are either very stupid or very confident to think you can best me so easily; and I’m willing to wager that it is the latter,” Right after her words, her jaw cracked loudly and dropped, dangling in the air in front of what had once been a collarbone and was now a jagged plane of dangerous spikes. There were even more along her back, but those were longer and twisted and more menacing.

Through their link, Soul could sense Maka’s ambivalence at the creature’s monstrous appearance. “Yeah, we’ve faced down much more intimidating Kishin than you. We’re the ones that took down Witch Arachne; you’re really nothing to write home about,” She scoffed lightly.

Actually fighting Kishin Ariel hadn’t been particularly hard – Kishin Ariel was clearly used to attacking humans with little or no combat training – but it was more that they moved pretty quick. At one point she had managed to get behind them and delivered a pretty god jab into Maka’s back, sending her tumbling forward. She had managed to catch herself and only stumble, but that simple misstep had given their opponent confidence to be more aggressive in her attacks.

It hadn’t taken long before they were led to Kishin Ariel’s usual dumping ground; the lake.

Kishin Ariel had then grinned fiercely, cackling openly and revealing three long sets and jagged teeth, while scooping up a decently sized rock from the closer to the treeline. “You know what the problem with your reports is?” She goaded, head weaving back and forth slowly like a cobra preparing to strike, tossing the rock up in the air and then catching it again over and over. Maka shifted a bit, widening her stance in preparation to defend against another blow, while he tracked the movement of the rock. “They don’t know the full story of what exactly we do here.” She then tossed the rock up high and sent it whizzing towards the lake, falling into the center with a decently sized  _ploosh_.

There was a beat of silence before a large, slimy black tentacle shot out from the depths, seizing Maka by the waist and yanking her into the chilly water with a sharp cry, dropping Soul from surprise.

He changed back to human form and stared, kneeling in the soft dirt, watching a few small bubbles breach the surface. “Maka!” He cried frantically, getting ready to get up.

That was when he heard Kishin Ariel start laughing again. “Well, would you  _look_  at  _that_!  _I knew_  you two were  _nothing special_!  _Stupid little brat_  shouldn’t have assumed that I was the only one working alone here!” She announced as she approached him, every step wide and proud. She leaned closer, her breath fanning against the back of his neck. “And then she leaves you behind. An act of  _mercy_ , perhaps? To keep you from drowning along with her?”

He whipped around and, without a second thought, changed his arm into a blade and pierced it right through her.

“Oh? Did I… strike a  _nerve_?” She asked, voice wispy as she began to come apart at the seams. In a quick flash of light, her body furled in on itself and became a red glowing soul orb. He glared at it for a moment before getting up and rushing into the water, wading up to his knees and looking for more bubbles.

“Come on, Maka!” He growled, pushing closer to where he’d seen her go under. The water was frigid and the fear that she’d succumb to shock was far too possible. He made it all the way to his waist but still he felt nothing and saw nothing; no bubbles or tentacles going after him. His teeth were chattering from the severe cold but the chill was far from the reason he started to shake. “Maka!” He almost roared, slamming one fist into the water like a child in a tantrum. All of a sudden, a few feet away from him, bubbles appeared, slow at first and then more frantic. He threw himself towards the cluster of bubbles and grabbed about wildly, trying to get a grip on anything that felt like her.

Her fingers brushed his as she started to drift back under and he heaved with all his might. She came up sputtering and latched on to him. He shifted backwards towards the solid ground again as quickly as he could, moving backwards and keeping an eye out for whatever had actually been hiding in the lake. The minute they reached the shore, she stumbled to her knees and started retching up the filthy water that had been filling her up. He dropped beside her and rubbed her back, forcing himself to remain calm. “Are you okay?” He asked shakily.

“Yeah,” She coughed out, carefully moving to sit up and dab at her mouth with the sleeve of her drenched coat, “and thanks. I was getting weighed down by all the water my clothes were taking on.” She took a few more deep breaths while Soul continued to rub her back, the two of them pressing in close to try and share their warmth. She could hear every shuddering breath Soul took in through his teeth. “We should… We need to get back and let Lord Death know about this. We can’t have anyone else going near the lake until we have a chance to get rid of that other Kishin hiding down there.”

Soul tensed a bit at her words before growling slightly. “Take a minute to collect yourself, Maka. You were under there for a while,” He insisted, trying to keep his cool. He shrugged out of his own jacket – still mostly dry – and shoved slightly at the shoulder of hers. “Here, take my jacket to warm up a bit.”

“I’m fine, So-!” She started to argue but cut herself off as he snarled and caught her chin in one hand, tilting her towards him to lock eyes.

“You almost  _drowned_ , Maka! That’s  _far_  from fine!” He snapped, his tone stern but surprisingly quiet. His voice warbled a bit from the cold but it didn’t take away from the full effect of his feelings. “You were down there for  _minutes_! And it’s honestly a  _fucking miracle_  that you came back up  _at all_!”

“Soul,” She said, her voice softer in hopes of calming him down.

Instead he just frantically shook his head at her. “No, Maka, this is s _erious_! Lord Death can wait for an update! I was so scared when you didn’t immediately come back up! You got taken down there alone,  _without me_ , without  _any_  kind of weapon to protect yourself! You would have  _died_  if you hadn’t figured out  _some way_  to get away from that thing! You would have  _drowned_  at the bottom of that damn lake because  _I couldn’t protect you_!”

“I know that you feel that, as a Weapon, you have to protect your Meister, Soul, I really do but-!”

“This  _isn’t_  just about our partnership! This is about the fact that  _I love you_! I love you  _so much_ , Maka!” He proclaimed, voice cracking as he felt tears start to pool in his eyes. It was from a mix of frustration and the anxiety from the situation they had just gotten out of. “I could have lost you… I was so scared I was gonna lose you tonight. I could never get over that, Maka. I love you too much to lose you like that.” He choked, squeezing his eyes shut tight to try and stop the tears from falling, and he just kept repeating that phrase over and over, like a mantra that would calm him down.

He heard her shift and then felt her press up in to him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and letting her head rest against his shoulder. Her fingers gently smoothed over the spot between his shoulder blades. “It’s okay, Soul. I’m right here and I’ve got you,” She whispered softly.

It was strange to think that, despite her being the one that had just nearly died, she was looking after him instead. He didn’t feel embarrassed by it, though; Maka was one of the strongest, most compassionate people he’d ever known. He dropped his head to rest on top of hers and took a shuddering breath, trying to calm himself back down. He tugged his jacket over her shoulders and tilted his head to look down at her. “We should get back to the hotel. Shower up and get changed,” He said, taking another shuttering breath.

She hummed in agreement, taking his assistance in standing up. She leaned up and pressed a small kiss to his chin as well, flashing him a small smile. “And I love you too, by the way,”


	3. Conflict Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request Fill using a Prompt List from tumblr. Soma, The Way You Said I Love You List, "In awe, the first time you realized it".

“Hey, you wanna talk?” A soft clink of mugs, the smell of warm tea wafting through the house.

“Kinda… Maybe… I don’t know,” She breathed quietly.

He hummed, more an acknowledgment than an agreement. “You always tell me that it’ll make me feel better when I’m upset. And you also talk a lot about how you should practice what you preach,”

“Trying to guilt me in to talking?” She says it more as a question than an accusation; rare, as she normally got passive-aggressive when confronted.

“Just worried… You’ve been distant and mopey for almost three days now,” He answered, filling the mugs up. He made sure to add a splash of cream and sugar to her cup. She liked tea, but not when it was particularly bland or bitter.

Silence for a beat. He walks over, she takes the mug. He sits beside her. A cushion between them, a comfortable space to breath.

“I was… Thinking… about everything with… With Mama and Papa,” She admitted after a few sips.

Silence for another beat.

“What brought that on?” An innocent question, if not a bit cautious. This subject always went one of two ways; an argument or tears.

“I was thinking about us, and our relationship, and then I started thinking about Mama and Papa… Wondering about them… What things were like for them when they were our age,”

“Like what routines they had and everything?”

“Not really. I was more thinking… What point did they go from just being partners in battle to being partners romantically?”

“..What?”

“Mama made Papa into a Death Scythe… They were partners for years. They worked together side by side until Lord Death decided he wanted Papa to be his primary Death Scythe partner. I’ve never asked either of them because… Well, it would be awkward and Mama isn’t really around to talk to about this… But I was thinking about it,”

“You were thinking about that because you were thinking about us?”

“Yeah,”

“What were you thinking about with us that tied back in to them?” The question is meek, but a bit hopeful.

“…”

“…”

“I… I was thinking about our partnership,”

“Uh-huh?”

“About how you’re always there for me, always looking out for me… You keep me focused and honest… Call me out when I’m wrong but support me when I’m right… And I realized that was a problem,”

“A… A  _problem_?” Incredulously.

“Yes… Because I… I’m so scared of ending up like my parents, Soul. I don’t want that… Not ever,”

“What do you mean?”

“What if we… What if we did decide to pursue something more like they did? And what if it fell apart like it did for them? What if we had kids and they got involved and suddenly they have this same anxiety and fear of relationships and commitment and being vulnerable and getting attached to people because they expect them to abandon them?”

“Maka, hold on, I think you’re-!”

“And I can’t do that, never! I don’t want others to feel the way I do! And I certainly don’t want to be the one to put someone through that!”

“Do you really have  _that_  little trust in me? After all we’ve been through, you  _still_  don’t trust me?”

“It’s not you I don’t trust; it’s me I don’t trust,”

“…”

“All I’ve ever known is abandonment and I’m afraid that I would hurt you like Papa hurt Mama… And if we had kids, that I’d hurt them like how Mama hurt me… And I don’t want to do that. Because I’m more afraid of hurting you than anything else in the world,”

“…”

“And that’s when I realized it… That I’m in love with you. And that got scary because of all that comes with that, and all the ways I could destroy the relationship we already have,” A quiet sip of her tea, lukewarm now. A slight tremor to her hands. A sign of her sincerity.

A deep breath, slow and steady. “You don’t need to be afraid, you know,”

“…”

“You said it yourself; I’ve always got your back. If we agree we want to pursue a romantic relationship, then we just keep working together to make the relationship work. That’s all it takes. Patience and communication and teamwork is what makes a relationship of that caliber work. And I think we can do that together, no problem,”

Silence reigned in the living room for a good while as they finished their drinks. She took the mugs to the sink. A quick rinse and then a return to the couch. Her hand on the center cushion. His placed over hers. Silence and a sense of peace.

“I love you,”

“I love you, too,”


	4. Humor Me, Darling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request Fill using a Prompt List from tumblr. Soma, The Way You Said I Love You List, "Loud, so everyone can hear".

She had been doing everything that she could to stay on his good side the last few days in preparation for the big question. She hadn’t yelled at him or lectured him about doing this or that. She had taken extra pains in keeping up with her portion of all the chores and been polite about asking him to complete his. She’d even made salmon for dinner the other night, just to try and score some bonus points before she asked him Friday afternoon. “Soul, would you be on board with working with a small group of new Weapons tonight?” She asked as she offered him his lunch from her bag. She always packed his lunch in her bag because, despite being on board with lunch, he had a bad tendency of forgetting his in the fridge.

He stared at her for a moment, ruby eyes opening a fraction more from their usual half-lidded stance as he sized her up, hand extended to take the offered lunch. She admittedly hadn’t been thinking about it much when she had made the promise to Marie and Stein nearly a month before. She had figured that it would be easy enough to convince him to go along with it. Sure, he’d probably whine a bit and need to be given a little bit of a treat later to make up for it, but ultimately it would be harmless.

But then Kishin Edward had happened.

Kishin Edward had been a pretty tough fight, even for an experienced due such as the two of them. The Kishin had multiple long, jagged spikes protruding from its body that were as sharp and jagged as a serrated knife. Turning the battle, Maka had kicked it with a reinforcing of her soul energy while it was blocking a blow, aiming to injure its arms enough to deal the killing blow, but she had ended up putting a little too much of her soul wavelength into it and send the beast teetering backwards like a drunkard. And the damn thing had teetered right back into Souls motorcycle, landing right on it and doing some serious damage with its long, sharp appendages.

Soul had been furious, to say the least. He hadn’t directly blamed her or lashed out at her, which she appreciated, but it was clear from the look on his face that he was devastated. Soul’s bike was one he had built himself, making repairs and doing paint jobs on the old, beaten down machine that it had been upon purchase. Maka still remembered being completely floored by how knowledgeable he was in relation to mechanics and repair work. Even before he’d told her the full history of his family, she’d assumed he came from a wealthy lineage given the suit he’d been wearing when they first met and figured doing menial labor was beneath him. And while, yes, he did seem to feel that way about basically any other household chore, he had always been passionate and dedicated to taking came of his bike. It had taken a few weeks to get all the parts that he needed to get the repairs done, but they had all come in as of Tuesday evening and he’d been planning to start on them that day after they got home from school.

She felt guilty about both the bike being damaged and delaying his time to get started on it.

He took the lunch and shrugged calmly. “Sure, I guess. Don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to do or say, though,” He said, setting his lunch in front of him.

She blinked a bit in surprise before smiling softly at him. “Ii sounds like they just want you to talk with them for a bit about choosing a Meister partner and what it means to have to occasionally defend themselves in combat. I can draft an outline for you, if you’d like,” She offered.

“Sure, sounds good,” He said around a mouthful of food. She watched him for a moment but he didn’t add anything else on, didn’t comment on what a waste of time it would be, nothing like that. He just kept eating his lunch like it was just any other Friday.

It was a bit strange but she sincerely appreciated his willingness to yield to what she was asking of him. She knew he wasn’t keen on helping the younger students out on his own free time. They’d had that argument one too many times throughout both their partnership as only Meister and Weapon, and still had it now that they’d chosen to pursue their more romantic feelings towards each other. There was a sense of comfort to how their lives continued as they were with only small, minuet changes. They didn’t really treat each other much different than they had before they were officially dating, but they just did a little bit more in way of PDA when they were in the comfort of their apartment.

The status quo between them was still so clearly intact that sometimes Black*Star still heckled Soul about whether or not they were actually dating.

But when she actually sat back and thought about it during their study hours, tapping her pencil against the blank page before her as she worked on ideas of what Soul could focus on while working with the young weapons, she realized that there were actually more changes she hadn’t really put much thought into. They had both started to put forth the effort to be less combative with one another when they were upset and actually talk through things, which was nice. She, in specific, was doing everything she could to be more transparent and honest about her thoughts and feelings. For so long she’d been afraid to unpack what happened in her head to him – at first from a sense of distrust, but soon enough more from a fear of becoming a burden to him – but she was trying her best to do that now. He, in turn, had tried to be a bit more open about checking out some of her hobbies so they had a little bit more common ground to relate on.

She realized that he was probably going along with her to, in some strange way, have something to relate with her on further.

When that thought his her, she’d felt herself flush and glance at him discretely beside her. He was leaning against the desk in front of him, arms crossed, with his head down and quiet snores echoing out. She smiled a bit and resumed her work on the draft, listing things out as best as she could in the way she thought he’d be able to relate to the most.

After classes ended, she and Soul made their way towards front gates where the students they were going to be working with were waiting. “Okay, now, the list makes sense?” She asked as they walked down the hall.

“Yes, Maka, for the tenth time, I got it,” He said, letting out a small sigh that showed his patience wearing thin.

She flashed him a small, apologetic smile. “Sorry, it’s just kinda hard to write a list that isn’t as detailed and specific as I usually write for myself. I mean, I wanted this to be like something you would write so it’d be of more use to you,” She explained.

He flashed her a wry smile. “Maka, if you wrote the list like I would have written the list, then the list wouldn’t exist in the first place. But I appreciate what you were trying to do,” He said, calmly folding the page up and tucking it into his jean pocket. He gave the pocket a light pat once the list was in safely. “But don’t worry. If I think I need it, I’ll make sure to use it.”

She blinked and smiled back as they headed over to Marie and Stein, who were just finishing separating the young teens into their respective categories. Marie turned and waved at them happily once she saw them. “Ah, perfect timing, you two! We were just getting ready to send them to their respective rooms for the discussions!” She said excitedly.

“Respective rooms?” Maka parroted curiously.

“Yes! See, we figured it’d a be a little easier to let you each have the conversations with each group in more private settings, to avoid any confusion or anything. Maka, you’ll be taking the Meister students to the Crescent Moon classroom, while Soul will be taking the Weapon students to the Eat classroom,” She explained.

Soul scowled a little bit. “So you mean we could have just stayed in our classroom instead of having to walk all the way across campus to get here, only to have to walk all the way back?” He asked flatly.

“In a way,” Stein chimed in, smirking around his cigarette at the annoyance in Soul’s tone, “that’s exactly right.”

Maka winced and glanced briefly at Soul, noticing how he took in a deep breath and shoved his hands into his pockets, both of them still curled into fists. “Right. Awesome. Well, let’s get going, then,” He said, turning and starting to head off in the direction they’d just come from.

“Hold on, Soul, we should introduce ourselves first!” She insisted.

He looked over his shoulder at the two groups of students watching them with wide, curious eyes. “I’m Soul Eater, and that’s my partner Maka Albarn. We’re gonna teach you some shit so let’s go,” He said before resuming his march.

Maka pinched the bridge of her nose, watching through cracked eyes as the students took off after him immediately. “Not how I would have handled it, but effective, I suppose,” She said, trying to remain positive.

She and Soul walked beside one another through the halls, the student staying in a huge clutter that was somehow oddly split behind them. They reached the Crescent Moon classroom first. Maka took time to make sure that all the Meister students were still with her while the Weapons stepped over to Soul. She smiled and nodded, opening the classroom and getting ready to step inside. She paused, though, and looked back at Soul’s retreating back. He was already halfway down the hall from them.

“Hey, Soul!” She called loudly.

He stopped and tipped his head back, clearly anticipating her to mention something he forgot to do. “What, Maka?” He called back, turning to stand sideways and look at her.

She beamed at him. “I love you!” She called, holding one arm up to wave at him.

He stared at her for a moment, brow knit in confusion, before realization slowly flickered on his face. His cheeks became almost as red as his eyes and his Cool Guy facade slipped something fierce. He dipped his head and she could tell by reading his lips that he was mumbling back, “I love you too.”

Satisfied, she turned and headed in, choosing to ignore any questions about her relationship status with her Weapon partner.


	5. Shock and Amaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request Fill using a Prompt List from tumblr. Soma, Dialogue Prompt Number 50, "People are staring".

“People are staring.”

He had said it once, a very long time ago, when they had just become partners and the idea of eating souls was still strange to him. He had yet to acquire a taste for them back then; thinking they had too pulpy a texture and tasted like sweat and rancid meat and the burnt scrapings from a stove top. He had nearly wretched almost every time he had to swallow down a soul at that point, but he still did it. She insisted that each soul had it’s own flavor, like fine wine or aged cheese, and that he would grow to have a taste for it.

They’d been on a basic mission to collect their fifth – or maybe it was the sixth? He was never very good at recalling those sorts of things. He was better with things like birthdays and anniversaries and other big dates – Kishin soul located out in the wetlands of Florida. Killer Croc, as Lord Death had referred to it. They stopped by a small beach town to talk with a human that had encountered the Kishin in question and lived to tell the tale.

And that was when he noticed all the people watching them with bemused or fearful expressions.

They, he realized, had probably seemed like quite the oddity to the people there. Most of them were wearing lighter clothes – tank tops and shorts and sandals or like sneakers – because the place was crazy humid and located right by the beach. Meanwhile, he was wearing what later became his signature jacket and maroon jeans. And Maka? Well, she was decked out in her plaid school skirt and long, heavy black trench coat she always wore on assignment.

“Hey, Maka,” He said nervously as she finished jotting down the last few notes from the Kishin’s only surviving victim.

“What is it, Soul?” She asked without looking up, clicking her pen so that it retracted into its case. She then flipped the notebook close and tucked it into the pocket of her coat. They, at that point, still only referred to one another by name and did their best to maintain a level of professional distance between them. They were, after all, just barely getting used to one another and had only moved into their apartment a week prior.

“People are staring,” He mumbled, lower his tone a bit as his eyes darted around uneasily. A part of him insisted that it shouldn’t both him, being watched so closely by others, but it still unnerved him a bit. His whole life had been spent under the scrutiny of others; whether it be from the rest of the Evans family for his bizarre music, or the other members of orchestras his parents had pushed him into joining, or musical critics that had been looking forward to the debut of the youngest Evans son, he always had eyes on him. Those eyes were always placing expectations on him for one reason or another, just like these people were doing now.

He had chosen to pursue a life as a weapon in hopes that he could finally escape a life free of judgment.

She glanced at him, one brow slowly rising, before looking behind him at some of the locals still sizing them. “Oh, so they are,” She said with a shrug before turning and heading on her way back to his bike parked just a little ways off.

He jogged after her and scowled. “Uh, doesn’t that bother you?” He asked.

“Why should it? I mean, we are a little bit weird compared to everyone here,” She said calmly before mounting his bike along the farther back of the seat. She watched him expectantly.

“In the future should we, I don’t know,” He drawled while mounting the bike as well, kicking it on as Maka settled her hands on his shoulders, “maybe try to dress more to blend in? To draw less attention?”

“There’d be no point to that,” She said, squeezing his shoulders just the slightest bit as he navigated them out to the road. She was still adjusting to riding his bike with him and, even though he’d told him before that holding around his waist would be a lot easier, she still insisted that she’d grab at his shoulders instead.

“Wouldn’t blending in be a  _good_  idea? I mean, wouldn’t the Kishin have less of an idea that we’re coming that way?” He argued lightly.

She laughed a bit at his comment and leaned forward to speak in his ear quietly. “The Kishin is going to go down regardless. I honestly think we’d call more attention to ourselves; especially if the Kishin did attack. People are going to cast weird looks at two teenagers fighting a giant crocodile monster… Especially when one of those two turns into a giant, menacing scythe,” She pointed out. She leaned back a little bit and gave his shoulders another squeeze, this time coming off as more reassuring than out of unease as the bike flew down the road. “Let people stare, Soul. People tend to stare at greatness, after all.” It wasn’t common for her to get boastful about them, but something about the words left him feeling warm inside.

This, he would realize many years later, was probably when his feelings for her started to blossom.

………………………………………………………

“People are staring,”

This time, he wasn’t the one saying those words and he actually had to pause. It had been so long since last they’d been said; so long he couldn’t even place the memory right away. It had been years since the last time he’d heard those words in a context similar to then and so much had occurred since then. They’d collected ninety-nine Kishin souls twice and collected a witch’s soul to further halt the spread of madness across the planet. They had made him a Death Scythe and accepted all the responsibilities that had come with that. They had seen the release and fall of Asura, the ultimate Kishin and creature of pure insanity, and had a hand in the whole affair. She had saved him from himself more times than he could recount; and he the same for her just as many. They had survived so many battles, accomplished so many seemingly impossible goals, and realized so much about themselves as individuals simply by being with one another.

He slowly turned to look at her, just a few steps away from the curtain and the spotlight focused solely on them.

Upon the defeat of Kishin Asura and the alliance between Lord Death and the witches, where Soul was named as the final Death Scythe, he had chosen to return home to pursue a career in music. Maka had helped him accept that his sound was something to embrace rather than shy away from. Every symphony he composed and performed was inspired and dedicated to her, named after battles and dates and people they’d encountered and worked with over their years as partners. And, despite his return to the Evans family, he and she remained close and talked near daily.

He had confessed his feelings to her, admitted that she was the only muse he had ever and would ever know. And she had reciprocated those feelings.

This concert was all for her; a celebration of all the songs he’d compiled and composed for her over the year since his entrance to the music scene. He’d insisted on wanting her to be there, to hear the whole thing. She had agreed eagerly and flown out. He’d had a front row seat reserved just for her and, during the previous piece, one of the security guards had gotten her and brought her backstage.

He wanted to introduce her to the world while he performed a song simply called, “Maka.”

He looked at her and slowly smiled at the faint blush on her cheeks. She was not particularly boastful – though she certainly took pride in anything she did – but he had learned she only really liked having the spotlight on her on her terms. He gave her hand, still clutched in his, a small squeeze and she peeked up at him through her bangs.

“You know, I felt like that once a long time ago. I got some really interesting advice from someone I knew that helped me get through it,” He said, speaking softly so that the microphone a few feet away wouldn’t pick up on his words.

She smiled at him slowly, seeming to recall that day herself at his mention. “Oh yeah?”

“Yup, and now I’m going to offer it to you. Let people stare, Maka. People tend to stare at greatness, after all,” He mused, grinning a bit wider as he parroted her words from so long ago.

She chuckled a bit. “Sounds like whoever told you that was really smart,” She teased.

“Not really; just a huge nerd,” He teased back, laughing when she playfully swatted at her arm. He then indicated the piano bench just a few steps away. “I want you to hear your song on stage the first time it’s ever played. Make sure I did you justice.”

She smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand and stepping a bit closer. She pressed a small, quick peck to his cheek before he turned to face the crowd, breathing in as he replayed what he’d been planning to say for weeks.


	6. Little Bandit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request Fill using a Prompt List from tumblr. Soma, Dialogue Prompt Number 21, "Sometimes, being a nerd comes in handy".

The mission wasn’t supposed to be particularly taxing or difficult.

The Kishin they were pursuing, called the Ring-Tailed Bandit, seemed to be some kind of animal-human hybrid. It was said to be extremely quick and highly intelligent, so it was decided that Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki would be dispatched. Between Maka’s quick wit and Black Star’s blazing speed, it was supposed to be a very easy feat. “Just you wait and see! Tsubaki and I’ll take that beast out before either of you even have a chance to blink!” Black Star boasted on the ride to the location. They were in New York, heading towards the area of one of the many parks, where the creature had been making its presence known.

“Uh-huh,” Maka mumbled quietly as she continued to shift through the case file Lord Death had sent with them.

“It’s okay to admit you’re a little jealous, Maka! But hey, at least it’ll be an easy mission for you two!” He laughed.

They had been dropped off by the bus at the hotel so they could check in and then headed on their way to begin recon work on the location before night fell. As they walked, Maka stopped by a small fruit stand to purchase a few items. Soul had cast her a curiously look as she jogged to catch up with them at the crosswalk, but simply shrugged at him. They arrived at the park and got the locals to disperse with just the slightest bit of posturing and threat of violence from Black Star. Once it started to get significantly darker out, the Kishin made its presence known. Black Star had launched in to action, insisting that Maka and Soul just sit back and watch a master work.

That had been about twenty minutes ago, and so far, the damned Kishin was making a mockery of the other meister.

“Wow,” Soul whistled, leaning back against the bench he and Maka were settled on, letting his arms spread out to rest along the back of it, “he hasn’t gotten close to that thing once, has he?”

“Nope,” Maka said, popping the ‘p’ a bit.

“The Great Black Star, ladies and gentlemen,” He snickered, waving one hand at them dramatically. He watched them for another moment before starting to push himself upright. “Should we go save his sorry ass already?”

“Yeah, call him over so we can talk strategy,” She said, rising from the bench. He noticed that she took the paper bag of food with her as she headed over towards one of the nearby trash cans.

“Hey, Black Star! Stop embarrassing you and Tsubaki and get over here!” He called out, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Black Star huffed, glaring into the thicket of trees where the creature had disappeared into last, then followed him over to where Maka was. “This better be a brilliant idea, Pigtails. I had that thing on the ropes just now!”

“On the ropes of laughing at you, maybe,” Soul snickered, earning himself a glare from his friend.

Tsubaki turned back into her human form and peered at Maka curiously. “What are you doing, Maka?”

She had tipped one of the trashcans over, creating a small pile with some of the food items that had been discarded and the fruit she had purchased. She pulled two peaches out of the bag she’d purchased and offered them to Black Star. “Do you think you can infuse these with some of your soul wavelength? Not enough to make them look any different, but enough that it would have a reaction on a Kishin if they got hit with it?” She asked calmly.

The other blinked slowly, his own green eyes bright with confusion. “Uh, yeah?”

“Perfect, go on ahead then,” She said, turning her attention back to rearranging the small pile of food and trash. The center was left open and vacant.

Still confused and lost, Black Star did as she said, then offered them back to her. “So, you wanna explain where you’re going with all this?” He asked.

She took the peaches back and placed them in the center, then set to work on covering them up with the other items. “Trying to chase this thing isn’t going to get us anywhere. It’ll just be a waste of your energy and soul energy to boost your speed, so we’re going to have to snuff this thing out like a wild animal,” She said calmly, leaning back a bit and beaming at the small pile. She then glanced back up. “Okay, I want you two to head off as if you were to leave the park. Once you get far enough away, sneak into the shadows and make your way back to here. Soul and I will take flight and keep an eye on the pile from above, since it might be easier to track it’s movements from above. The goal is that the Kishin will be attracted to the food and start to dig in. With how active it’s been, it’s gotta be pretty hungry, so it’ll go after anything.”

Tsubaki nodded while Black Star hummed quietly. “Sounds decent enough. But what’s with the peaches?”

“Well, you see, from what I was reading, it seems the Kishin’s animalistic tendencies come from that of a raccoon. And a favorite snack of raccoons is peaches, so there’s no way the Kishin will be able to resist going for those. Since they’ve been infused with your soul wavelength, though -!”

“It’ll be temporarily stunned!” Tsubaki gasped in quiet excitement.

“Giving us a chance to strike! Pretty sneaky plan, nerd!” Black Star cheered happily.

“It’ll only work if we play our cards right. Now, Soul and I will be here to run backup if you need it, but ultimately we’re going to be banking on that speed you two are known for. You’ll need to keep pace with it, especially after it refocuses from the temporary daze,” Maka said, pushing herself to stand upright completely. She then held one hand out towards Soul. “Okay, now that everyone is on the same page, let’s get it in action. If we spot the Kishin I’ll alert you via our soul channel, okay?” She said.

“Got it!” Black Star beamed happily, looking over at Tsubaki. Without another exchange of words, both she and Soul changed to their weapon forms. As Black Star headed off towards the pack exit, Maka settled herself and sent she and Soul up into the sky.

Once they were properly gliding, Soul prodded at her mind. “So… Raccoons?” He asked.

“What about them?” She asked, a bit distracted, her gaze fixated on the trees beneath them.

“Well, where do you get those random little trivia facts from? Seems like a pretty strange thing to just have knowledge about,”

“Sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy,” She said nonchalantly.

He was quiet for a moment before he burst out laughing. “I’m sure I’ve said it before, but you’re the coolest meister ever,” He chuckled.

She smiled at his words. “And don’t you ever forget it,” She hummed before letting herself focus back on the task at hand.


End file.
